Seems like just yesterday that Jim Ed was thisclose to being (rightfully) inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. But then he was 16 votes shy of the 75% needed to be voted

And now, on this 15th and last try, we are all hopeful there will be enough of a final push to get him into the Hall of Fam where he belongs…If he does not make it this year, the only way he could get in is on the Veteran’s Committee Ballot…

The 2009 Hall of Fame Ballot:

The results will be announced on January 12th, 2009…And Jim Ed does have history on his side: No one has gotten this close and not made it….

Well, the deadline to offer arbitration passed last night at midnight–with no surprises. The Sox only offered it to the players they would receive picks in the draft for, if they signed somewhere else: Jason Varitek (and Type A Player, which means the Sox would get 2 draft picks.) and Paul Byrd (A Type B Player, which means he is good for 1 draft pick–in the sandwich round…)All the rest: Mike Timlin (who still wants to play somewhere) Curt Schilling (is still undecided) Mark Kotsay (will probably go look for a full-time gig), Bartolo Colon (he bailed on the Sox and they placed him on the restricted list–dont think he’ll be back) Alex Cora, Sean Casey, and David Ross were not offered arbitration. ‘Tek and Paul Byrd have 1 week (December 7th) to accept the offer. If they do, they are under contract to the Sox for the 2009 Campaign…

About a year and a half ago, I wrote about one of the bizarrest things I came across in a while–Red Sox Urns –for the Red Sox Fan who has everything, and can’t take it with them. Your loved ones could look at this tasteful urn, covered with Red Sox logos, for all eternity. Well, now the company, Eternal Image of Michigan, who brought you the urns (for $799 each, by the way), now brings you the Red Sox CASKET, which is like a regular casket in all ways–except for the Red Sox logo on the outside, as well as the inside. Here is the description from the Eternal Image Website: “The caskets are crafted from our proprietary composite and decorated with various woods and metals. Like the urns, each casket is instantly recognizable for the team after which it is designed. The interior fabric features the team logo and colors for the pillow and fabric trim.”

And guess what? If that (and its $4,499(!) price tag) wasn’t enough–they also have headstone markers. And if you happen to love a fan of another team (Hey, it could happen…) All major league teams will be available by next year…

Anyone else TOTALLY creeped out by this?

Coming up: Less than a week to go before the Winter Meetings begin on December 8th in Las Vegas–will the Sox do anything interesting there???